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Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Ah, my new favorite pastime: finding ways to incorporate Yumm! Sauce into everything I eat. This time, I used it instead of mayo in tuna salad. It was delicious, and made a great lunch to take to work!

I'm not a big fan of mayo. I only use it sparingly in recipes if I absolutely have to. I have never been one to spread it on sandwiches or burgers; it's one of those "picky eater" habits I still cling to as an adult.

I am pretty sure I've always disliked the stuff, but I can say for sure that one experience I had as a kid sealed the deal. My sister and I were in elementary school at the time, and my mom was working there as a staff assistant. Some days after school we had to wait around for her while she was still working, so we'd hang out in the staff break room. One day, we were sent to wait there as usual, and saw a huge spread of food set out that was leftover from a lunch potluck earlier that day. My mom said we could help ourselves. So I grabbed a roll, spread on a large amount of butter - what I thought was butter - and took a bite.

I could tell something was up with that butter. It did not taste right. I had to take a few bites to figure it out, but we finally realized what had happened: the mayo had turnedyellow from sitting out all day, so it looked like butter. ::gags::

And that's why I don't like mayonnaise. That's also why you should never let perishable food sit out for more than two hours.

Remind me to tell you about the time my best friend got me to try tarter sauce - and how she conveniently "forgot" to tell me until afterwards that it's basically composed of mayo and pickles! Ok, that's pretty much the whole story right there. She's still my best friend, but I do not eat tarter sauce...

JuRita - It's the signature sauce at Cafe Yumm (on Monroe in Corvallis). It has garlic and lemon flavors. You can buy it at the restaurant, at the Co-op, and at Market of Choice. I love how it tastes so I put it on practically everything!

At the restaurant they have these things called "Yumm Bowls" which are really easy to remake yourself at home. It's just rice, beans, Yumm sauce, salsa if we have it, and whatever toppings we want: sauteed veggies, chicken, tofu, shredded cheese, tomatoes, avocado, etc. Basically whatever we have in the fridge that we need to use up.

I like brown rice, Yumm sauce, chili, corn (usually thawed from frozen), and a little cheddar on top. I worked for the owner of the franchise here in Eugene before she renamed her business Cafe Yumm. We did make and sell Yumm bowls and sauce but the cafe was called The Wild Rose and it was in the 5th Street Market basement, circa 1994-1998, I believe.